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I have to take a minute to tell you guys about a quick project I did this summer just a few days before some house guests arrived. You may remember that our guest room has lacked an actual headboard since forever. I even opted to paint one onto the wall when budget didn’t allow for a real headboard. One day I stumbled on a sale post in a local yard sale group on Facebook for a headboard. It actually happened to be for a bed frame (which I also needed since the guest bed was on milk crates at the time) and a hot pink headboard. Even more convenient: the post was by my cousin. She was sweet enough to give me a “family” deal and even delivered the bed frame and head board to me!

As adorable as the hot pink polka dots are… it wasn’t the vibe I was aiming for in the guest room. It sat in the guest room untouched for a while until I stumbled on some fabric I could use. I employed my old trick of using curtains and shower curtains for upholstery projects. I’ve used them for headboards and ottomans in the past and they’ve held up well. They are a fraction of the price, are thick enough and durable enough for such projects, easy to clean AND I can often find them on sale at places like Target, Walmart, Home Goods and TJMaxx. I found a single curtain panel on clearance (it was opened and returned) at Target for $9 and it was perfect for the gray and white I have going in the guest room.

So one afternoon my trusty 4 year old helped me pry the old staples and fabric from the headboard to reveal the white backing.

Then we laid out the curtain panel and got the work stapling. The curtain was just the right size and was easy to staple through. The rounded corners were new for me but I just folded a few little pleats as I went and it turned out fine.

Ta-da! Then we added the legs and gave it a new home in our guest room. Pix to come (our house is currently prepping for construction … and the is a completely different beast that will require a series of posts. oy).

Paying it forward. The other day I went to the coffee shop for a coffee. Totally normal, right? But then when the cashier ran my card it didn’t work. She apologized and ran it again. And again. No dice. Mortifying… I promise I had enough money for a latte (which my now had already been made and was sitting just beside her). She explained that their credit card system had been wonky lately and asked if I had cash or another card. My only other card in my coat was for work and I had zero cash. By now I’m so embarrassed. Then she shrugs it off and tells me she has a Pay-It-Forward for a latte already. You guys, people prepay for coffee, muffins and sandwiches for others and the store tracks them on the cardboard sleeves. When you need one, you just grab the appropriate sleeve and hand it to the cashier. I accepted and promised to pay it forward. The next day I returned (while an IT guy was there setting up a new card reader by the way) and bought 10 coffees and got to write on the sleeves. Above is my handiwork.

O’s artwork. O loves anything crafty. She’s been all about watercolors lately. She painted this the other day.. Of course I tell her it looks fantastic and that I can tell she worked very hard on it. She tells me “Its Blueberry (our Beta fish)!” Can you see it?

Krohn Conservatory’s Holiday Show. Cincinnati people: you don’t want to miss this! Not only is the botanical exhibit incredible, the gift shop irresistible and the trains impressive… they have the most insanely beautiful replicas of Cincinnati landmarks made out of bark, acorns, pine cones and branches. I found a replica of my childhood home, a painted lady Victorian of Tusculum (above).

Coozies. In my former life coozies were strictly for adult beverages. But O found this at Walgreens right before Halloween and has been using it for her Almond milk. Just slide your hand in and it makes you look like you have a monster hand. Never gets old. Its almost Christmas and this bad boy is in the daily rotation.

Balsamic anything. I brunched with a dear friend the other day at Taste of Belgium. You all KNOW how much I love that place. This time I paired my Mimosa (below) with a spinach, red pepper, goat cheese crepe topped with balsamic reduction (above). I need another trip to ToB already!

And as if you need more reasons to drink Champagne- I’ve heard it may prevent Dementia and Alzheimers. Article here.

This killer wall stencil. My cousin Megan just did this stencil on one wall in her dining room. I believe the wall is one color and the stencil is done in the next lightest color on the swatch and in the next highest sheen.

I died when I saw it. I must find a place for this technique! Also, Megan chalk painted and gel stained the table and chairs herself! Go girl! Looks sharp!Can a wall be sexy? Because this one just might be.

Redeeming myself. Yup, totally loving that. I once really over baked some brownies for my boss’s dinner party. Like, so bad. That night she sent me a video of everyone trying to cut the brownies and soaking them with ice cream to attempt to soften them. All in good fun and we’ve been laughing about it for a year. The other day they asked if I would want to bake for a dinner party again. We joked about not making brownies and that hopefully nobody would choke or anything. I told them I had a family recipe for a carrot cake that promised to impress. It took me about 3 hours to make and it was perfect. Isn’t she purdy?

That night I received videos of guests eating the cake and raving about it’s decadence. Totally made up for the brownie incident of 2014.

Oreo truffles. Three ingredients, 20 minutes of your time and people think you’ve saved the world. Recipe here.

O’s selfies. She’s been filling my phone with photos and videos of herself, sometimes the dog and even myself. She’s snapped a few great ones and I’m obsessed wit h this one. She can fill my phone with her precious face absolutely any day.

Stitch Fix! I tried Stitch Fix over the summer and I’m hooked. I have posted some of my scores on Instagram. If you want to try it out be sure to use my referral link (this is not an affiliate link but I would get a credit via Stitch Fix for sending you).

So what are you loving lately? A song? Your new haircut? The weather? Spill it… I wanna know.

A couple of years ago I posted about making last minute Santa hand print salt dough ornaments (pictured below). We had so much success that we wanted to use the recipe again to make ornaments again this year. It doesn’t hurt that its super affordable, I already had everything to make these in my house and it’s a total breeze. I promise this is one Pinterest project that you can’t mess up! O is older so I opted to let her help with everything.

The recipe:

1 cup salt

2 cups flour

1 cup warm water

As mentioned in the previous salt dough post, I discovered using my stand mixer and dough hook were most effective. This worked well because I literally just let O dump the ingredients together and I flipped on the mixer. Once mixed well I kneaded it a bit more by hand… I’ve noticed a little body heat and elbow grease make the dough smoother. Then I helped O roll it out in 3 batched on parchment paper (wax paper would work too) and let her do her magic with a handful of holiday cookie cutters. I used a straw to make holes so that I could hang them by twine later.

I baked as many as I could fit on a cookie sheet at a time at 200F for about 45 minutes and flipped them over for another half hour on the back side. I just kept watching and peeking in on them.

The next day we were ready to paint! I used an egg carton to hold small amounts of acrylic craft paint that she chose to decorate her ornaments.

She had a field day and painted most of them in one sitting!

The paint dries fairly quickly so I followed up behind her writing her name and the year on the back of each ornament and then tying a string through the hole I’d made earlier.

Ta-da! These are gifts for family members, special friends and neighbors. So if you’re reading this and later receive one as a gift just act surprised (wink wink).

I scored an orphaned kitchen chair at a yard sale for $2 a couple of weeks ago. It was in decent shape but just plain and boring.

I deglossed it and did a quick all over sanding. Then I used Coral spray paint. I’m not usually a spray paint girl for furniture but chairs are my least favorite item to paint (so many surfaces, corners and potential drips!) so I figured I didn’t have anything to lose on this piece except a few bucks.

It took 2 solid coats with a round of touch up but over all I like the color and finish and maybe hate spray paint a little bit less than I did before. I left the chair plain for a few days and pondered on how to jazz it up… it was just missing an it factor. I stumbled upon (okay, purposely) stopped into a fabric sale and hoped to find trim, ribbon or something to make this chair more special. There I found a few options that I knew could further transform this piece.

I narrowed my choices to these two.

Above is a bit more formal and bright.

Below is more traditional but still bold.

Both were only $4/yard for upholstery grade fabric!

II was pretty torn and considered buying both but decided to ask Erica of EH Calligraphy for her input. You know, becaude decision making is not my strong suit. After texting back and forth we opted for the blue damask pattern. Then I traced the seat of the chair and cut the fabric to fit up to the edge of the seat. A few coats of modge podge later I had this pretty lady!

Its a new take on a classic chair but still super functional. I think it could be a cool corner chair in a guest room or entry area or a fun pop of color in a home office. I will be coating it with some poly to help durability and I think it should be for sale soon.

Like this:

You may remember that I helped a friend hang a grid of mirrors last month. I had also been meaning to try it in my own house but I was struggling on where I’d want to hang a grid of mirrors. I bought 10 of the same mirrors we used at Erika’s house and they sat in a pile on the buffet in the kitchen. For some reason I couldn’t commit to a grid of mirrors. Then I realized that the square mirror frames would make the perfect frame for Instagram photos. I started by thing to pry the mirrors out of the frames. Let me tell you- those things are cemented in and I almost lost a few fingers. So trust me when I day that I recommend Modge Podge. You like having fingers, don’t you? Thought so.

-Printed Instagram photos (I use the Walgreens app. They stay in 4″x4″ format, are super affordable and they are usually ready in an hour!)

-Modge Podge

-Paint brush, ruler, sharpie, scissors

-Hammer, nails, level

First, I laid out all of the photos I had printed. I had chosen to print photos I had Instagrammed of food. I thought it would be a fun addition to the kitchen. I recommend that gallery walls have some so of theme, whether it is a color theme or subject matter. It should make sense to any guest that enters your home. I had about 20 to choose from and had to narrow them to 10. I asked Hubby to help me weed through them. It was easy to toss out photos that were lower quality or had bad lighting. In the end he convinced me that 8 was a better number and wouldn’t clutter the wall we had chosen. He even used one of my favorite design principles on me, “Less is sometimes more.” Sold! Eight it was. We opted for 2 rows of 4. Also considered: 3 rows of 3 to make a square gallery of nine images. These are the 8 we landed on. Hubby pointed out another theme: circles. All of the photos had circular subjects and it wasn’t even on purpose. Next I measured the mirror space to see if I needed to cut down the pictures. The mirror was just under 3 and 3/4″ so I marked my ruler and got to trimming. I noticed that the photos I had used the instagram filter frame/borders on fit perfectly after removing the borders. Had I known this I would have printed all of my images with borders to save a little effort. After trimming, I was ready to glue the photos directly on the mirrors. I applied a thin layer of Modge Podge to mirror and pressed my photos in place. Some of the photos were snug and needed convincing to fit the corners in but I was patient and gentle. Trimming and gluing took less than 15 minutes! I let it all dry overnight (mostly because of my schedule… you could definitely move directly on to hanging from the point). Next I gridded out my gallery all on paper with my wall measurements in hand. I moved the buffet and climbed up on a chair. I’m always surprised at how much I enjoy putting nail holes all over my walls… especially since I’ve painted each room in my house at least once since we’ve moved in. Just pounding holes into my hard work but I think you will agree that it was so worth it. Take a peek:

All in all I’m really happy with the way it looks and glad I chose to go with photos over mirrors. I even like how it looks as I enter from the family room.

I don’t hate the price tag either! 8 frames x $1.99 each = 15.92! I already had the other supplies. Can you believe this is a $16 gallery wall?!?!

PSST… you can follow me on Instagram by clicking on the Instagram link to the right (in the sidebar) or by finding @hildagotrocks on Instagram. I’m also on Bloglovin’ + Facebook + Twitter which are linked in the side bar as well.

Like this:

The other day O and I had some errands to run in an area of town that is one of my favorites: Old Milford. We parked in from of “The Mercantile Mall” and decided to pop in a take a peek. If the store fronts are adorable. And they are the perfect indication of what you’ll be finding inside… charming finds for every part of your life. I knew I was in for some fun. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. I just can’t wait to go back on my own so I can stroll through without a little one hurrying me.

Like this:

Thats right, it’s a verb. I had the pleasure of hitting up about a dozen garage sales this weekend with Katie from Nerdy Girl Writes. We met bright and early, coffee in hand and headed out into garage saler’s paradise.

We filled our first carload before 9am. And my car is pretty roomy.

Katie scored an entire vintage patio furniture set and a solid teak adirondack chair and ottoman for less than $50. She also scored a ouija board fkr the purpose of framing as graphic art. I’m kind of jealous. I’m sure she’ll be posting all about it but I have to admit I was impressed. That girl can negotiate!

We made a few trips back to my garage, her car and her garage as well as swinging by and borrowing a car for more cargo space. Between the 2 of us we filled 5 car loads. But the patio furniture was easily 3 loads alone.

Here are my spoils.

I’m so pumped about the icecream parlor chair I scored. The pillows are outdoor fabric so they well be going on out deck. Liv will love the magnetic chalk board and the wicker trunk as soon as they each get a coat of paint. The smaller wicker box is actually a file box. 1 was relieved to find this because I have out plastic one and haven’t found a cabinet or anything I like for the same purpose. I’m also excited about the jig saw. Every DIY girl’s dream. Haha! Everything else will likely be redone and sold on my Facebook page or etsy shop.

I’m not morning person but I will say that this was a Saturday morning (and like $65) well spent.

Like this:

I recently finished this dresser. It was given to me by someone who knew I could give it a new life and a new home. After quite a bit of elbow grease and lovin’ this thing has a whole new attitude! And it is for sale!

Chalk paint in Benjamin Moore Waterfall, distressed and washed in custom mixed Minwax dark stains. Sealed in satin polycrylic (not wax). Solid maple dresser with PLENTY of details and even dovetail joints! I’ve chosen to keep the original brass hardware and repainted it in oil rubbed bronze. Measures 44″ wide, 35″ tall, 20″ deep with drawers at 5.5″ vertical depth Shallow drawers- may be best as a child’s dresser, accent piece, bedside table or even a bar or tv stand! $350 in Cincinnati area! Hurry, price goes up when I list it in my etsy shop at the end of the month! Email hildagotrocks@gmail.com or message me on Hilda’s Facebook page!

I wanted to share a few pics from a project I did with my friend in her new house. Erika’s family room has a wall that was built out to cover an old fireplace (by the previous owner). At first she talked about putting built ins on either side, but later she came to me with an even better and more affordable idea: paint stripes on the protruding wall. Whoa. Why hadn’t I thought of that!?! I freaking love stripes!

So we got to it one evening after work with a level, Frog Tape, and a great paint color. She chose Behr Vintage Velvet. It has a rich navy vibe with a hint of indigo. When we put the first coat on it was quite purple looking. Admittedly, I got nervous but the second coat had me sold. Between coats Erika painted her sofa table (serving as TV stand for now) navy to blend in a bit more. Above: Erika putting the room back together. But you can see all the elements of the room. I really thing the navy pulls it all together.

Below: A panorama of the room. On the far left you can see that she decided to paint the inside of the door with the same Vintage Velvet. I’m a huge fan of bringing the front door color to the inside of the house… as I’ve done it with mine a few times.

Below: You can see that the striped wall stands out and created a dark pace in the back corner of the room. On a whim we opted to try a full length closet mirror that she had upstairs to reflect lamp light and give the corner something it was missing. The mirror serves purpose as a light source but doesn’t take away from the room or create a busy corner. We’ve all hung wall art where it doesn’t belong. Sometimes less really is more.

Below: The opposite corner of the room has more natural light with the window and Erika added a cool open shelf to match her coffee table (IKEA VITTSJO). When we were all finished with paint we took a few minutes to grid out a cluster of some small square mirrors (IKEA MALMA) over the couch.

That wall of mirrors costs less than $25 but makes a great impact.

In the end Erika made a bold choice by making an awkward wall into the statement piece of the room. Now it feels like a key architectural element and really brings the whole room together. I’m so in love with he ruse of mirrors that I got some for my own house!

Like this:

For a while now I’ve had a stash of barn wood planks in my garage. I collected them on a visit to Danville, KY last spring and have been day dreaming of what to make with them ever since. I was happy to leave my small collection in the garage for a few months. I wanted to be sure it was dried out and free of potential bugs etc before I made a move. Occasionally I’d be in the garage working on my furniture or another project and I’d admire the small pile of barn wood. I even Instagrammed about it here and posted on Hilda’s Facebook page about it here. If you don’t love barn wood then we should probably not be friends. I’m enamored.

So one day I was at Home Depot looking for other things when I found these numbered hooks for a steal. Isn’t that always how it always happens? I decided they’s be cool on a couple of my planks so I bought 2 sets.

I spray painted one set white and distressed them for a feminine shabby chic vibe. The other set were spray painted with oil rubbed bronze for a more craftsman feel. Both sets of hooks immediately looked more expensive and had more character. Then I just had to add them to my barn wood.

The hooks came with screws that were much longer, as they are intended to go directly onto the wall. I used shorter (3/4″) screws to attach them to the boards. As you can see below, I was left with very obvious silver screws. Nothing a little craft paint and detail brush couldn’t fix.

Here are my finished coat hooks. I love them! And I love that they both are made with teh same things but each have their own personalities… I like to think they are sisters. *The white set had been sold! And will look fantastic in my friend Erika’s new house.*